US rockers Haim can't wait to return to T in the Park.. because Scots throw the best parties

09:18, 8 Apr 2014

Updated 10:33, 8 Apr 2014

ByJohn Dingwall

THE three sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana are returning to Balado for the second consecutive year, having already enjoyed the hospitality of Scots gig-goers after a string of sell-out shows.

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Sisters Este, Alana, and Danielle Haim

US rockers Haim admit they are looking forward to playing at T in the Park again this summer - because Scots know how to party.

The three sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim are returning to the summer festival in Balado for the second year running, having already enjoyed the hospitality of Scots gig-goers after a string of sell-out shows.

Este, 28, said: “We love Scotland and I think some of our favourite people live in Scotland, as well.

“We’ve played there several times.

“We played Stereo in Glasgow and we’ve played Aberdeen when we opened for Florence and the Machine.

“When we get there we know what to expect, that there’s going to be amazing parties with amazing people.

“We’ve met a lot of amazing people who come to our shows and we’ve stayed in touch with almost all of them.

“So when we come, they tell us the best places to go.

“They take us to the best pubs and clubs and we have the most amazing time.

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Este is also delighted to discover the band have been added to the T in the Park bill after enjoying the festival in 2013.

She said: “Last year, we did T in the Park and had the most fun. It was the most freeing experience for us.

“Glastonbury had been fun but it was hard to let go because the next day, we had three shows to do. So we couldn’t get wasted in case we lost our voices the following morning.

“But we had two days off at T in the Park, so my sisters and I finished our set, ran across the field to make it to Kendrick Lamar and just lost our minds.

“We were screaming his lyrics and trying to get his attention.

“Much to our dismay, he didn’t even look towards us even though we were the crazy three girls in the corner having the best time.

Richard Wilkins/Perthshire Advertiser

Danielle and Alana performing at last year's T in the Park

“We wanted him to hear us and it totally fell flat.”

Haim will be performing songs from their gold-certified album Days Are Gone, including their current single If I Could Change Your Mind, when they head to the festival in July and hope the weather will live up to last year’s heatwave.

Este said: “T in the Park was the best fun and so crazy because it was too hot.

“We had the best time last year.

“I didn’t know the rules and whether we could play the festival two years in a row. But I knew that if there was the slightest crack in that policy, we were going to barge ourselves in because everyone was so good to us and the line-up was insane.”

Having grown up in the San Fernando Valley in California, the sisters established themselves as a three-piece having performed 1970s classic rock with their parents as youngsters.

It was the right move.

Haim’s breakout success came in 2013 when they enjoyed widespread acclaim having clinched the BBC’s Sound Of 2013 poll.

“We were basically a covers band who weren’t allowed to play weddings and Bar Mitzvahs,” Este said.

“My father absolutely refused for us to be a wedding band. That was his nightmare but we played for charity.

“Basically, we played any school function or charity that needed entertainment.

“My dad would be like, ‘We’ll do it.’ It was fun for us. We got to play some really cool songs and some really nerdy songs.

“We didn’t even get to pick the material we wanted to play.

“My dad was really into Santana, so we basically learned every song in the Santana catalogue.

“It was really cool. We almost learned the new Santana stuff with Rob Thomas.

“We put our foot down when he wanted us to do that.

“We said, ‘We’re not doing that, nice try’.”

Having ditched their parents, Haim count them and other family members among their biggest fans.

Este said: “Obviously my parents are proud of what we have achieved.

“They are also super-normal. They have day jobs and work, so it’s hard for them to see us.

“When they get a few days off from their jobs, they travel out.

“The biggest thing is that I’m glad our parents are proud of us.

“But my sisters and I are really stoked that we can show our grandparents and they are also proud of us.

“That is kind of awesome.

“On both sides of my family, they really love the grandkids.

“Just to be able to hear my grandad say, ‘I love your record, I bought it’ is kind of amazing.

“Both sides of the family have come to our shows and they are all very excited and supportive.

“The funniest thing is if you see my mom at a show, the entire time she is just bawling, tears streaming down her face.

“It’s the funniest thing. I can’t help but laugh because when my mum cries it is the sweetest thing ever.

“My way of coping with it is to laugh, otherwise I’d cry too.

“My mom is just the best.

“She and my dad are angels.”

So does an all-girl group attract the sort of attention post-gig that male groups often do?

“If you mean the textbook groupies, like crazy ladies of the night who flash their boobs in order to get backstage, that hasn’t happened yet,” Este said.

“I did play a show in Brisbane and a girl took off her bra, T-shirt, everything. She was completely starkers other than her shorts.

“That was the most groupie thing that has happened to me and my band.

“I’m a girl. I love boys but I really love MY girls.

“My sisters and I are all about girl power, so when we see girls in the audience that resonates with us.

“Seeing ladies, groups of girls, coming out and having a good time and coming to our shows is the most fun for us. And when it comes to boys, honestly, I’m 27 years old and I can worry about boys when I’m in my 40s.

“Yeah, I can worry about that later. I just think it complicates things.

“If there is a cute boy at a show, I have no problem going up to them and saying, ‘Hey, I think you’re foxy, let’s go hang out’. But apparently I’m intimidating. I don’t think I’m intimidating. I don’t understand when people tell me I’m intimidating.

“I think I’m just kind of just weird and awkward and creepy half the time.

“It’s hard.

“Dudes that are at my shows? I haven’t met one yet where I’ve been like, ‘Yes you’.